White House: Republicans fighting over budget and debt ceiling are like terrorists, or something

posted at 10:01 am on September 27, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

As many wags on Twitter noted when this claim by senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer first floated to the surface, the Obama administration might want to steer clear of the terrorist references, especially when sending arms to a Syrian rebellion that seems to have actual bombs strapped to their bodies. CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Pfeiffer why Republicans shouldn’t demand spending cuts in exchange for the CR and the debt-ceiling hike when more than six in ten Americans think that’s a reasonable approach. Pfeiffer replied that demanding spending cuts in this process is like, er, terrorism:

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said a U.S. debt default could be catastrophic. But President Barack Obama said Thursday he will not “not negotiate on anything when it comes to the full faith and credit of the United States of America.” That is, no negotiating with Republicans.

Yet, the American people support, by a two-to-one margin, a requirement for spending cuts when negotiating more borrowing authority for the government to pay its bills, according to a new Bloomberg News poll.

The White House “is for cutting spending. We’re for reforming our tax code, for reforming entitlements,” said senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer.

“What we’re not for is negotiating with people with a bomb strapped to their chest,” he added.

House Republicans are not asking for a negotiation, but rather demanding a hefty ransom, said Pfeiffer.

“It is not a negotiation if I show up at your house and say, ‘Give me everything inside or I’m going to burn it down.’ The Republicans have provided a laundry list of essentially ransom demands,” he noted.

Does the WH believe that 61% of Americans support terrorism? The Bloomberg poll linked above shows 61% of Americans supporting Republicans who want spending cuts in exchange for a debt-ceiling raise, “even if it risks default.” Obama and his team had better pay attention to some of the other numbers in this poll, especially on approval ratings:

Overall – 45/49

Economy – 38/56

Foreign policy/US reputation – 43/51

Budget deficit – 29/61

Health care – 39/54

Working with House GOP – 39/46

Syria – 31/53

In fact, Obama is underwater in every measure, and well outside the margin of error except on overall approval. The “refusal to negotiate” stance is getting especially old, with less than 40% supporting it. Republicans aren’t looking like terrorists as much as Obama is looking like a petulant child — and this PR campaign is further proof of it.

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Just a few days away from the end of the greatest Healthcare System in the World, the grizzled veterans of the Grand Old Party are acting like a bunch of children who got beat on the playground in a kickball game, and who now want to take their ball and go home.

I laughed at the screen pic too, that’s the sort of dude who talks just a bit too loud at parties and will tell you his opinion on everything whether or not you want to hear, and of course is an expert on everything too.

I do not see how it will ever be possible for those of us who believe in a free, independent America will ever be able to get along with these Marxist, collectivist bastards. Give them half the country so they can can continue to screw up that while the rest of us get on with rebuilding and restoring America, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

If only Emperor Øligula attacked real “terrorists” with the same vigor with which he attacks decent Americans, we might be in a better place, both domestically and internationally. But Noooooo …
What sad commentary on a sorry excuse for a “leader”.
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I laughed at the screen pic too, that’s the sort of dude who talks just a bit too loud at parties and will tell you his opinion on everything whether or not you want to hear, and of course is an expert on everything too.

Bishop on September 27, 2013 at 10:16 AM

You nailed it!

The guy who continues to wear his senior class shirt years after graduation.

The guy who is constantly name-dropping and telling you how super-awesome his life is.

The guy at the office who is always “super busy” even though he does no discernible work.

The White House “is for cutting spending. We’re for reforming our tax code, for reforming entitlements,” said senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer.

Not a single living remotely aware creature — plant or animal — on the planet believes that.

In a rational society, all such idiots would instantly lose total credibility and be shunned by all society, consequently instantly losing their jobs/families/friends/etc. up to, and likely including, their lives …

Editor’s Note: Well, well, well…It looks like the TEA Party isn’t a “fringe group” after all, now doesn’t it, especially when you consider that there are Republicans, Independents, Libertarians and Democrats counted among the group. That means that the Progressives — both in elected office (like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer) and the mainstream media (now, actually the fringe media to be more accurate) — are the “fringe group” and not the “voice of the American people,” as they try to portray themselves. This means that their efforts to mainstream their ideology is a propaganda campaign…and one chalk-full of non-truths and deception. Imagine that…Socialists lying to “the people.”

You left out “anarchist”. Dingy Harry said it the other day and Tom Harkin just doubled down on it on the floor of the Senate.

Naturally Curly

You mean like Barry’s BFF and benefactor Bill Ayers?
Øb☭ma has surrounded himself for many years with domestic terrorists, you’d think he would know the difference. But then, that would mean that the man-child in mom-jeans is actually competent. We all know that is very far from the truth.
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Mark Levin was saying much the same thing last night. Personally, I don’t see him coming apart at the seams quite yet but the Middle East Crisis isn’t going away. The IRS scandals are not going away. The Obamacare debacle is not going away. Congress is not going away………

Obama has never done multi-tasking well and he is being forced to, well, do what Presidents do and handle multiple issues at once. All I can say is “tick tock.” The strain of multiple priorities will shortly result in a meltdown or, more likely, a complete focus on campaigning for Obamacare at the expense of all else.

The White House “is for cutting spending. We’re for reforming our tax code, for reforming entitlements,” said senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer.

Not a single living remotely aware creature — plant or animal — on the planet believes that.

In a rational society, all such idiots would instantly lose total credibility and be shunned by all society, consequently instantly losing their jobs/families/friends/etc. up to, and likely including, their lives …

You also left out “Teabagger”, the go-to term for sensitive and intelligent liberals.

Bishop on September 27, 2013 at 10:24 AM

Barack Ø’Carter has Miss Chrissy Mathews of LSDNBC, et al, ad nauseam, to carry his miniature jock strap, why should the White House (p)sychophants be any different? Their goal is the same – parity among FIRST and THIRD World countries. It begins with the destruction of this Federal Republic.
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1. The government will be shut down for a few hours before a continuing resolution is passed.
2. Obamacare will neither be defunded or delayed.
3. The debt ceiling will be increased as part of a deal in which some spending cuts will be claimed. Soon after the deal is signed into law, we will discover that all the spending cuts were phony.
4. Republicans will be repeatedly condemned, by Democrats, the media, and other Republicans.

You know, if we have to lose, I’d prefer to lose in a way in which we don’t wind up humiliated.

I am flucking getting sick of being called a terrorist. I do not support killing those that do not believe what I believe. I do not support strapping on a bomb and killing as many bystanders as possible.

Liberals tore this country apart. They keep this up good things are not going to happen in this country for they are pushing this to the breaking point where people can not stand each other and all heck breaks loose.

1. The government will be shut down for a few hours before a continuing resolution is passed.
2. Obamacare will neither be defunded or delayed.
3. The debt ceiling will be increased as part of a deal in which some spending cuts will be claimed. Soon after the deal is signed into law, we will discover that all the spending cuts were phony.
4. Republicans will be repeatedly condemned, by Democrats, the media, and other Republicans.

You know, if we have to lose, I’d prefer to lose in a way in which we don’t wind up humiliated.

J.S.K. on September 27, 2013 at 10:37 AM

You’re just playing the odds based on past performance.

I’m not so sure you are right.

1. When the Senate sends the House bill back with funding for Obamacare, Boehner has to deal with a House divided on defunding or delay. And divided on pushing the agenda on the CR or waiting for the debt ceiling battle. All of that takes time and the clock to shutdown is ticking.

2. The House could well send something back to the Senate with delay inserted. The Demonrats are claiming that Obamacare is so perfect that even delay is wrong. What does Harry Reid do with a delay provision?

3. The CR is going have to be resolved before the debt ceiling is even discussed. The lazy stupid rat-eared coward says no negotiation on either the CR or debt ceiling. The GOP has a list of provisions that must be included. Who blinks first? A week ago I’d say the GOP but Ted Cruz changed the equation.

“I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you’re not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration.”

White House: Republicans fighting over budget and debt ceiling are like terrorists, or something

Der Stürmer, a Nazi propaganda newspaper, told Germans that Jews kidnapped small children before Passover because “Jews needed the blood of a Christian child, maybe to mix in with their Matzah.

wandan local radio incited the Hutus to violence (an act against international law):
‘You have to kill the Tutsis, they’re cockroaches.’
‘All those who are listening, rise so we can fight for our Rwanda. Fight with the weapons you have at your disposal: those who have arrows, with arrows, those who have spears, with spears. We must all fight.’
‘We must all fight the Tutsis. We must finish with them, exterminate them, sweep them from the whole country. There must be no refuge for them.’
‘They must be exterminated. There is no other way.’

The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that “the buck stops here.” Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.

The headlines are labeling this a fight to shut down the government, and even Fox is calling it a showdown to shut down the government.

If you don’t vote for funding the government with the CR, they are saying that is voting NOT to fund the government and voting for a shutdown. Ted Cruz’s message is NOT being repeated in the MSM he and all the republicans are guilty of terrorism now.

This is more than spin, this is evil malfeasance on the part of the media and taking the cheap quick soundbite way out.

But on the surface anyone who votes against this bill is voting to risk shutting down the government…”Symbolically,” as Ted Cruz might say, but I don’t doubt Harry Reid and Obama are working for a shut down to blame republicans for real.

I am for Ted Cruz, I am for ending Obamacare, it is unfixable.

I don’t know how anyone can get the media to do this, perhaps some paid advertising, but the Senators need protection from this accusation, and need to vote against cloture and tell the American People that Harry Reid is including the funding for Obama Care.

It is so confusing to us out here, people don’t know what to think, it is so confusing that our republican leaders are all tangled up in it, and that part is really not their fault, and it is not the fault of Ted Cruz, because there has been no opening given in the Senate for Ted Cruz to give his speech, when Harry Reid does not conduct the Senate’s business, and also, when republicans cannot debate or give amendments.

It is confusing to us like when someone tells you there is an abortion amendment on a referendum question at your state election and you are told YES means no abortion. YES here, means end cloture and ADD funding for Obamacare back in. No means don’t vote for cloture…to end the discussion and no to Harry Reids ReFunding Trick.

OK, so do I have it, has anything changed from this reasoning that I thought was true yesterday?

No matter what bill that is delivered to Obama, eventually he has to sign it, he has to EAT HIS PEAS, because he doesn’t control the purse strings, and the GOP better be spending some money to get the correct message to the American People, because right now, the only person who has been talking to the American People is Ted Cruz. We don’t watch the MSM, because they mislead, but it would be helpful to pay to counteract the Obama Machine broadcasting messages.

I don’t want a CR. I want a budget. I don’t want this for 2 more months, I want a new revised budget in effect on October 1. Where is Harry Reid’s budget? Where is Obama’s Budget? Where is Entitlement Reform? and how can you do any reforms with the ACA – a mess hanging over everyone’s head. There is no money to pay the increasing subsidies that Obama is promising to cronies who have political power.

I would like to see not only an amendment requiring Congress to follow the law that says they try Obama Care, but federal workers too, and an amendment restricting special carve outs or waivers and differing treatment in the law.

The recent HHS ruling from Mrs. Sebelius that removes wives/husbands as legal dependents for health insurance is one such anomaly. If you are not a dependent, and you don’t work, then non working spouses across the country have no income since they are not dependents and would be signing up for Medicaid by a waive of Obama’s hand. There is no money for that. And you can’t say someone who is not a dependent has to use someone else’s income to qualify, that is unreasonable. Children have no Income. But then, they are being called dependents for Obamacare, but what if the non working WIFE claims the children as her dependents? Then they all would like Medicaid…

This argument might be intended to lead to single payer government controlled health care. It can’t be allowed to stand.

Yesterday Obama and Jay Carney said nothing bad is happening as a result of the law…the next time they will blame business and the media will persecute the businesses that reduce hours.

Right now there are not enough democrats in the House to put in the laws to persecute business worse than they do in ACA, but look for these changes if you abandon the republicans and liberals run in and take over: There will be no status of part time worker, because that hurts the Obama regime, all workers will be called workers no matter how many hours they work. And the penalty for not providing insurance will skyrocket to pay for the subsidies of the people in the exchanges who get a subsidy. It’s a war on small business.

I wish we could go back in time to 8 trillion of course, knowing what we know now.

The $787 billion Stimulus package raised the budgets for Obama’s five years until the recent sequester by as much as 25% in many federal departments.

The republicans have really won on Obama’s Sequester, in spite of some of the hardships = Inflict as much pain as Possible – the reason that we have not run out of money before now is that those cuts allowed Lew to keep playing with the money until now.

I look forward to the day when the Mark Levin rule from his new book the Liberty Amendments is in place. If Oct. 1 comes and there is no budget, subtract 5% from current levels of funding. I think I would make it 10%.

All the hysterical squealing…it’s like the guys who paint their faces and make asses of themselves at football games. Most of the folks even rooting for the same team just want them to shutup and leave.

“I’m sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and disagree with this administration, somehow you’re not patriotic. We need to stand up and say we’re Americans, and we have the right to debate and disagree with any administration.”